Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies

Welcome to Brain Waves, an Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies podcast series that explores the latest and most critical topics in the world of transport, logistics, supply chain and infrastructure. Join us as we delve into the innovations, challenges and trends shaping these essential industries. These discussions with our expert researchers and PhD students will keep you informed and engaged.

So tuning in to stay ahead of the curve and navigate the complexities of today's interconnected world.

For our inaugural episode of brainwaves, I would like to introduce Professor Steven Graves, Oculus Chair and Transport Management, who will be chatting with PhD student Kendall Banfield. The recent decision to ban shared e-scooters in the city of Melbourne has sent shockwaves around this promising, yet controversial form of personal mobility, and how we might safely accommodate their growing use.

Over to you now, Kendall. Okay, thanks, Becky. Steve, to get us started, can you outline briefly what happened in Melbourne and, what went wrong? Yeah. Thanks, Kendall. well, this was, ultimately, to put it bluntly, a political decision, in response to growing complaints around reckless behavior. Drunk riding, riding pillion. The two of you, riding on pavements and littering.

I think it's important not to stress. This was very much to do with the shared e-scooter scheme. in the city of Melbourne. But boy, should we be encouraging e-scooter use and putting up with this. Should we just continue to ban, scooters like the city of Melbourne has done and we've done in New South Wales? Yeah, well, I think it's unfortunate what's happened in Melbourne, but we shouldn't have a knee jerk reaction.

These, scooters are being used increasingly around the world. Yes, we're we're sort of struggling as to how we manage and regulate them, but they there's a lot of pluses and sustainability benefits of, of using scooters. I think the big one is quite straightforward. It's a really a genuine alternative to the car for short trips, people who maybe not have don't have access to cars.

And the fact is that they're here, they're growing by 20% per annum for example, in New South Wales is roughly 2% of people own an e-scooter, despite them not being, legal on public roads here. and there's also dangers of not having clear regulation. And I've, coined the marijuana of contemporary times. We're allowed to to go and buy these things.

Vendors are allowed to sell them, but we can't use them. Okay. is the overwhelming sentiment negative, as the media would have us believe, saying? No, it's some recent research, that I've done it. the University of Sydney, where we we asked Sydneysiders, what do you think about e-scooters and what do you think about various aspects of regulation?

We found, nicely over half of Sydneysiders can't wait for these to be regulated, to be legalized. And there's only, one quarter who, I'll fundamentally opposed. however, Sydneysiders are sensible people. They want this legislation to be accompanied by suitable and, and apt regulations around how they're used, where they're allowed, and the rider requirements in particular, I guess kind of lets the old 9010 rule.

We have so much love in transport. 90% of riders are just like car drivers are doing the right thing. It's those 10% who aren't. And dare I say, that's what sells newspapers. yeah. Safety's obviously an issue. How can we make a scooting a scootering safer for everyone, not just the rider, but pedestrians and other road users. Isn't that ultimately the issue we need?

So I think it's a at the crux of the issue, of getting them accepted. and just thinking about, you know, what, we can actually do. clearly rider behavior is critical. yeah. It's, a tough nut to crack. However, I think it's reasonable to expect some basic level of knowledge and education to ride them. given these are going to be ridden on roads and, dare I say, pavements, even though they're not supposed to be, they can go 25km an hour.

And as we know, with a little bit of internet knowledge, you can make them go much faster. technology has a lot of positives to offer, though. We're now seeing shared e-scooters rolled out with lots of smarts in them, including AI based collision avoidance systems. Intelligent speed adaptation to stop will slow them down in the event you're about to hit something or something's about to hit you.

Clearly as well, we need to be talking about infrastructure. At the moment. E-scooters are a bit of a lost soul on the roads. You know, motorists don't want them on the roads. Pedestrians don't want them on the pavements. And, bicycle ride and start them on. Want them on the bike paths. So we need to have a conversation nation and think about where are we going to allow these and how are we going to make that happen?

Yeah. Okay. So, where do you see the e-scooter conversation going in the next few years? Yeah, the fact is, like it or not, they're here. It's how we manage and and regulate them. I'm afraid banning them isn't the answer. we ban them. We've got. As I mentioned before, we've got 2% of people in New South Wales own them in states where they're legal.

Like Queensland. and I dare I say Victoria until recently, the rates are actually much higher. combining this with unclear rules and regulations just leads to more confusion. It's and it's going to lead to more reports, of shoddy devices, dodgy practices, and dare I say, increased fire risk, which seems to be almost a daily, reporting issue.

The the real opportunity though here, you know, we're on the crux of a real mobility opportunity to it because it provides an accessible and sustainable form of personal mobility that really is a genuine alternative to the car. How many times have we been able to say that. Not many. Yeah. That's all really interesting Steve. And just to wrap up, what I've heard you say is firstly that e-scooters are here to stay.

I've also heard you say, you know, the current issues, whilst they're not resolved now they need to play out. But, the important thing is, I guess going forward into the longer term future, we need to be proactive with policy and planning, for e-scooters because, yeah, they'll be around for a while.